Fort Worth weekly gazette. [volume] (Fort Worth, Tex.) 1882-1891, 1887-05-13
PROHIBITION.
What the Newspapers of the State Say
OF the Contest in Texas Over
Alcohol and Malt.
Arguments Pro and Arguments Con Which
Are Favored With the Usual Jour
naiistic Condiments.


Are Favored With the Usual Jour
nalistic Condiments.
The San Antonio liquor men organized
themselves into campaign body and re
solved to assess each dealer $50 monthly
for the purpose of the campaign. They
also resolved to boycott all business men
and individuals who favor prohibition.
This latter is bad move. 1t is reported
| from some towns in Texas that the ants
are Withdrawing support from papers
which advocate prohibition. This is
wrong. The right CT opinion should be
respected. It can be said of most Prohi-
tionists that they do not try to boycott
papers, because they oppose prohibition.
+ CIeburpe Chronicle.
| ~.
1t is great outrage on Texas Demo
crazy for Prohibitionists to receive aid
from Kansas or northern people in this
campaign but quite in keeping with the
| immortal principles of Thomas Jefferson
for the saloon men to pour their piteous
wailings into the ears of northern brewers
and distillers and cry for blood money
with which to buy up votes for whisky in
| L
amendment in Texas is being fought by
northern money sent down-not by pa
triots and philanthropists but by brewers
and distillers with the cold-blooded pur-
pose OF filing their own greedy pockets
with the price OF sour sorrows and blood.
i Waco Advance.
The ProhibitiOnists have criticised
severely the resolution adopted by the
nti-convention last Saturday, and are
still Criticising it, because it tends to
array the Democratic party against the
amendment. The Observer has been of
the opinion from the start that the ants
would make Democracy the battle cry Of
the campaign. 1t will be a lively time
when all the Prohibitionlsts are read out
of the Democratic camp. If perchance
the amendment carries, who will do the
reading, and from what prayer book will
the reading be done? Messrs. Reagan
and Coke each hold the book; which one
is the Democratic oracle p Corsicana
| Observer.
Some papers are blowing about the
state whisky traffic annually paying the
government 81 100000. We don't doubt
the assertion at all. But instead of
stopping here like the other papers, we
will just look little further in and see
from whence this enormous sum comes.
How much whisky does a saloon-keeper
sell, dear reader, for every dollar he pays
| in revenue to the state of Texas? We
don't mean the profit ne makes, but how
many dollars worth of whisky and other
mixtures does he sell? We imagine we
hesr you guessing all the way from $50
to $1,000, and we don't know but what
you are right, too, as the tax is the same
on the large city saloons as those in the
smallest village. We will take the small
estimate OF 500 now, however, and
imagine the saloon keepers so liberal as
to give Texas 81 every time he sells 500
worth of poison. At the end of the year
Texas counts her pile and it is found that
she has received 100000. Now how
much liquor would the saloon keeper
have sold?-$100, 900, 900 is the enormous
sum. It is hardly necessary to say who
pays this money-every town has It's con-
tributOrs, no matter whether there is q
feast or famine in other things. Where
does this $l00,000,000 go? Well, about
half of it goes out of Texas forever, and
finds its way to the northern distillers
and brewers. The other half we are
willing to allow them for a profit, and we
leave it to you, dear reader, to where it
goes to, as it is very poor saloon keeper,
indeed, who cannot sport diamond stud
and gold watch.
Now directly from the sale of this 800,
600, 900 worth of whisky (for Iegalizing
which the state has been paid $1,000,000)
how many people are murdered, how
much theft has been committed, to say
nothing of the shooting scrapes, stabbing
ARRAYS, knock downs, ETC., of minor i'm
portance. To give our readers q basis
for estimate it is not necessary to 60
away from home, Nearly every one OF
our readers are acquainted with the San
ders-Moody case. Two years ago on
March 81, Joe Bowers and John
BagWell were trading in Thornton.
After buying $40 saddle and 81 worth
of whisky they came to Kosse, where they
met Moody and Saunders. The four then
proceeded toward the Tom Bates place,
drinking aud shooting their pistols con-
tinuously. On the road they overlook a
negro man and little negro girl whom
they shot dead without any warning or
proVocation. This 81 worth of whisky
has so far cost the state over 100000 and
the fun is not yet over. Now where
does this $4,000 come from? 1t comes
from the peaceful, law abiding citizens
of this county by what? Taxation!
Now would this not be far better to
lose this 81 900, 900 revenue, saving it ten
fold by less taxes, or, il need be, take uD
collection for the amount? There would
then be 500, 100000 left with which to
clothe, feed, shoe and educate the chill
dren of Texas, and instead of hard times
and panics the mills that are now closed
down would start up with wonderful "a
pidity and the farmer would get better
price for his cotton and other products
Kosse Cyclone.
From the State Comptroller's report
for the year ending November L, 1886,
we gather the following data concerning
the liquor traffic in Texas. During the
year 1886 the number of license issued
for the sale of spirituous, Vinous and
malt liquors was:
1860 retail liquor dealers. Taxes on
same. ......................S37 S, 600
80 wholesale dealers. Taxes on same. $500
| sos quart dealers. Taxes on same. $4,000
| $50 beer dealers. Taxes on same. 1850
Taxes on all liquors for 1885. ........ 1892 900
| This information will be found On page
9 of the Comptroller's report. It will be
seen by this that the claim made by Judge
Clark and ether advocates of liquor that
100000 would be "lost in revenue" if
prohibition prevailed, Is ar erroneous
one, and that when the amendment is
adopted the decrease Of taxes paid in viii
! be less than half million.
It is well to keep in mind that while
the state only collected license in 1886
| from less than $500 saloons of all kinds,
| the national internal revenue department